Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews isn’t going full speed after postseason surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury to his foot, but he’s feeling healthy and “real confident, real excited” for the year to come.
One of the things that has Matthews excited is the change in offensive coordinators. Kyle Shanahan is in Atlanta and he’s brought his familiar zone blocking scheme with him, something that Matthews feels will be a good fit for him in his second NFL season.
“It’s about athleticism and speed,” Matthews said, via ESPN.com. “We’re trying to beat the defense off the ball, outwork them and outrun them, and beat them with angles, all that stuff ... cutting them off. I think it something that’s well-suited for me. I feel like I have that lateral quickness and I can be a big help in this offense. So I’m excited for it.”
Matthews didn’t have the smoothest transition to the professional ranks as a rookie in terms of health or performance. His ability to improve in Year Two will be significant for a team that’s talking about throwing the ball less often in 2015 and needs the sixth overall pick in 2014 to be the anchor and leader up front that they drafted him to be.